Various ice cream making machines for personal or home use exist which share common characteristics including: small size, convenient storage and use, base with internal motor, freezing bowl, mixing paddle, and cover. In use, the freezing bowl is cooled in a freezer for a period of time. The mixing paddle is placed in the bowl and moves relative to the bowl in either one of two arrangements. In the first, the bowl is in engagement with a drive mechanism that transfers rotational force from the motor to cause the bowl to rotate while the paddle is held stationary. In the other arrangement, the bowl is held stationary and the paddle is rotated relative to the bowl. Ice cream ingredients are placed in the bowl and the cover is positioned. As the mixing paddle and bowl move relative to each other the ingredients are cooled by the temperature of the pre-frozen bowl, resulting in ice cream.
Known ice cream mixing paddles are designed to span a distance just short of the inner diameter of the mixing bowl so that direct contact is not made with the inner walls of the mixing bowl, as the friction plus the load of the ice cream might stall or damage the motor or paddle. At the same time, this prevents some of the ice cream mixture from being pushed into and out of contact with the cold inner wall of the bowl as much as the rest of the ice cream mixture.